-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A 2009 helicopter crash in which eight people died was due to a bird striking the chopper 's windshield , the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday .

`` Contributing to the accident , the board said , were the lack of -LSB- Federal Aviation Administration -RSB- regulations and guidance requiring helicopter windshields to be resistant to bird strikes , '' among other factors , the NTSB said in a news release .

On January 4 , 2009 , a dual-engine Sikorsky S-76C helicopter crashed into marshy terrain near Morgan City , Louisiana , about seven minutes after takeoff from Amelie , Louisiana . The copter was on a charter flight to a Gulf of Mexico oil rig . Both pilots were killed , along with six of the seven passengers , according to the NTSB .

Heard on the helicopter 's cockpit voice recorder was a `` loud bang , followed by sounds consistent with rushing wind and a power reduction on both engines , '' according to the statement . `` The aircraft crashed several seconds later . ''

Feathers and other debris , identified as belonging to a red-tailed hawk , were collected from the helicopter 's canopy and windshield , the NTSB said .

Investigators believe the bird 's impact jarred the fire extinguisher T-handles loose and moved them aft , which pushed both engine control levers into the flight idle position , reducing fuel to both engines , the statement said . `` The pilots were probably disoriented from the broken windshield and rushing air and were unable to react in time to maintain control of the helicopter . ''

The helicopter was registered to and operated by PHI Inc. , the board said . The helicopter initially was equipped with laminated glass windshields that complied with European bird-strike resistance standards , but PHI had replaced them with lighter-weight acrylic windshields without bird-strike resistance .

The crash occurred just days before pilot Chesley Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles landed a US Airways flight in the Hudson River at New York City after a bird strike to the engines . Only a few minor injuries were reported . The January 15 landing made heroes of Sullenberger and his crew .

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Eight people died in the January 2009 crash in Louisiana

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The chopper 's windshields were not bird-strike resistant , the board says

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The crash occurred days before a Hudson River landing following a bird strike